The Civil War was one of the bloodiest wars fought in American history. Although the North won, led bravely by President Abraham Lincoln, Union victory was never a foregone conclusion. Historian Joseph Glatthaar says Lincoln may have been a great political leader, but he didn’t know much about military strategy. The president’s missteps made the Civil War longer and almost caused the resignation of one of the Union’s great generals.
Host Frank Stasio talks about the battles and narratives of the Civil War with Glatthaar, the Stephenson Distinguished Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and with John Guss, site manager for the Bennett Place State Historic Site in Durham, NC.
